Platonic MikoChiyo Week Stories
by Daisy12Pink
Summary: These are the MikoChiyo Week stories I wrote in 2018. I'm more of a NozaChiyo shipper myself, which is why I made Mikoshiba and Sakura the main characters, but have more hints of shipping between Nozaki and Sakura. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Trust

"Mikoshiba-kun! Do you want to go with me to the new café that opened up?" "My, my. Are you sure? If I go with you, the desserts you eat may taste bitter in comparison to seeing my sweet face." "Alright! It's a date then!" The third year girl skipped off before she could see Mikoshiba's face turn a deeper shade of red than his own hair. "Not again…" he moaned. Just then, Sakura appeared. "Mikorin, are you coming to No- WHAT HAPPENED?" she asked. "Sakura… could you maybe… turn down a third year girl for me?" "Turn down- Mikorin… did you accept an offer to go on a date with someone even though you didn't want to?" Mikoshiba nodded. "Mikorin," Sakura sighed, "I know you aren't good with social situations, but you've really got to learn how to say no. Won't she be disappointed if you suddenly change your mind?" "But I didn't change my mind!" Mikoshiba interjected, "In fact, I even told her it would be a bad idea…" "I bet you did it by flirting didn't you?" Sakura asked, flatly. "Yes, but…" "Fine. I'll talk to her. What was her name?" "Yuuki from class 3-B" "Got it." Sakura said, walking quickly in the direction of the classroom. Mikoshiba gave a sigh of relief. He could depend on Sakura.

The next day, Sakura found Mikoshiba in a similar position. She sat down on the floor next to him. "What is it this time? Yuuki didn't get mad at you, did she?" she asked. Mikoshiba shook his head. "This time it was three first years. They didn't ask me to do anything, but I just kept shooting off one cheesy line after another. I'm so embarrassed with myself!" "Mikorin, you don't need to be embarrassed. There's got to be a reason why these girls keep coming to you. They must really like hearing you say those things." Mikoshiba shook his head. "What if it's just so they can laugh at me?" Sakura patted him lightly on the back. "I doubt it's that. They wouldn't keep saying you're cool if they were laughing at you about it." Mikoshiba brightened. "You… you really think so?" Sakura got up before saying, "You should still break the habit though. Just say what you really feel instead of what you think sounds cool." As she walked away Mikoshiba nodded. Once again, he thought about how dependable his friend was.

Later that day, Sakura found Mikoshiba again. This time she came to ask him for help. "Mikorin," she said, "do you remember the promise you made to the art club? We'd like you to model again for us." Mikoshiba didn't miss a beat. "No" he said, flatly rejecting her. "Awww, why not?" "Don't you remember what I said when I promised them? They're going to expect me to model in the nude!" Sakura shook her head. "I know you said that, but I don't even think the school would allow it. More importantly, you didn't mean it when you said that. We'll be happy if you just model like you did last time." "Still, I'd rather not." Mikoshiba said. "It's tiring and super embarrassing. Can't you find someone else? Why don't you ask Nozaki?" "Asking Nozaki is out of the question! If he models, the whole art club is going to fall for him!" Mikoshiba chuckled. "Maybe if he does model though, you'll finally tell him your true feelings. You almost did last time he visited, didn't you?" "MIKORIN!" Sakura yelled. "I'm kidding," Mikoshiba said, waving his hands. "But seriously, isn't there ANYONE else?" Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, I guess the president's boyfriend could come in, but he has soccer club right now. I could also ask the art club if they know any other guys…" Sakura trailed off before she thought of something else. "By the way, Mikorin, how come you have no trouble telling me how you really feel?" "Huh?" Mikoshiba blushed, "Where did that come from?" "Well, I was just thinking about the first time you modeled for our club… you turned me down but when anybody else asked, you accepted immediately, and did that flirty thing you always do. Why is that?" "The truth is…" Mikoshiba began, "ah, nevermind." "What is it?" Sakura insisted. Mikoshiba sighed. "Sakura, I trust you. I can depend on you. I know that if I say something stupid and turn red, the worst that will happen is that you will say, 'don't get embarrassed!' or something along those lines. I can afford saying 'no' to you because you don't have any high expectations about me. You already know that I'm no good around girls, that I'm an otaku, and that I draw flowers for a shoujo manga, but even so you're still my friend." Sakura's expression turned sad. "Mikorin…" she said, "Just because you are the way you are doesn't mean I think any less of you. You don't have to be someone you're not just to impress people." "What do you mean?" Mikoshiba asked, "Just say it already! I'm such a lame embarrassing guy!" "No," Sakura said gently, "You're not. It just takes you a little while to get used to people, that's all. As for your hobbies… I wouldn't say that they're the most wholesome, but you certainly aren't alone. Why do you think the anime and manga industry is doing so well? People all over Japan- no, the WORLD love the same games and manga that you do. What I don't understand is why you and Wakamatsu insist your work as an assistant to Nozaki is embarrassing. Sure, it's a shoujo manga, but the way you draw flowers and little details really speaks to girls everywhere." Mikoshiba hung his head. "This is what I mean, Sakura. On top of the fact that you don't care at all about those things, you're even dependable enough to talk me out of worrying about them so much. To be honest… modeling is nothing compared to what I've just told you." "It's alright," Sakura replied, "you said it tires you out as well as making you embarrassed, right? I think I'll be able to find someone else. You've gone through enough already these last few days." Before going back to her club she added, "I know you probably won't take my words to heart immediately, but even if you're not as cool as Nozaki-kun, just know that there's nothing you need to be embarrassed about." As she walked away Mikoshiba thought, "She's right but… why did she have to compare me to Nozaki? That guy isn't cool at all!"


	2. Chapter 2

Love Letter

As Sakura and Mikoshiba worked across from each other at the small table in Nozaki's apartment, Nozaki got up and headed to the kitchen. He opened the fridge but couldn't find his favorite drink. Closing the fridge, he announced, "I'm going to the convenience store to get some more drinks, so I'll be right back."

As soon as he left, Sakura took the opportunity to complain to Mikoshiba. "Do you think Nozaki-kun and I will ever get together?" she whined. Mikoshiba gave her a blank look. "Not if you don't take any action. I get that you're worried he'll use you for manga reference, but if that's so, is it even worth asking him out?" Sakura wailed, "I know, I know! I just don't think I can confess to him now. I already tried, but he just misunderstood me!" Suddenly Mikoshiba got an idea. "I know! How about you send him a love letter? You could sneak it into his bag or into his shoe locker." Sakura thought for a minute, "But, I tried that once and you rejected the idea." "That's because you made it look as if I wrote it." Mikoshiba retorted. Sakura sighed. "Fine," she said, grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper, "I'll write down ideas of what I could say." "You're not just going to write the letter?" Mikoshiba asked, wondering if Nozaki was perhaps rubbing off too much on her. "I want to make sure I know what I'm going to say before I write it down." Sakura explained. Mikoshiba nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. Then first, you should clear up any misunderstandings he may have. What exactly did you say when you confessed to him?" "Umm…" Sakura stammered, "I said… I'm your fan…" Mikoshiba facepalmed. "If it was anybody else he should have understood." "I know!" Sakura wailed. "In that case, you should first tell Nozaki that you didn't mean that in the way he understood it." Mikoshiba suggested. Sakura shook her head explaining, "Do you know how disappointing that would be to Nozaki-kun? He loves his manga! Besides, it's not like I WASN'T a fan of his manga, it's just that I meant to confess my feelings to him, and I wasn't even aware he was a manga artist, let alone the author of _Let's Fall in Love_." Mikoshiba sighed. "How about you write down exactly how you feel then?" Sakura perked up. "Yeah!" she said. After writing something down, she handed the paper to Mikoshiba. "This is how I feel." Mikoshiba gaped at what she had written. "Seriously? You want to know what kind of shampoo and toothpaste he uses? Don't you think that's a little… CREEPY?" "You said to write down EXACTLY how I feel!" Sakura yelled. Mikoshiba spoke quietly to try to calm her down. "Maybe don't write exactly how you feel. Instead, how about you say something romantic?" "Romantic?" Sakura asked, "How?" Mikoshiba put on a sly smile as he said, "I've loved you since the day I set my eyes on you. We were destined for each other my dear knight in shining armor." Just then his smile faded and his face turned crimson. "Mikorin! Don't get embarrassed! Although… I probably can't write something like that." Sakura responded. "It-It's better than the creepy stuff you wrote! BAKA!" Mikoshiba said, still blushing furiously.

The two went back and forth thinking of ideas of what to write, but none of them were satisfactory. Everything they said was either too vague, too over the top, or too creepy to realistically put in a love letter. After about 10 minutes, Nozaki came back to the apartment. "How did your work go guys?" He asked. Just then he spotted the page they were writing on. "Huh? What's this?" Before Sakura or Mikoshiba could snatch the paper away, Nozaki picked it up and read it carefully.

"You two… How about you just leave the story ideas to me? Please work on the beta and details."

Sakura and Mikoshiba lowered their heads in embarrassment. Both were blushing furiously. "O-okay." They responded.


	3. Chapter 3

Café

Nozaki sat alone in his apartment. His assistants weren't over because he was still coming up with ideas for his next manga chapter. He knew his next chapter would be about a date between Suzuki and Mamiko again, but his previous attempts at researching dates didn't go too well. "If only I could watch two people going on a date together…" he thought. He realized that his intrusion might ruin the atmosphere of the date, but if he didn't sit with them he wouldn't be able to hear everything they said. He decided the best solution was to set up two of his friends so he could fill in the blanks based on what he knew about them. "Alright, it's settled. I'll have to set two of my friends up and watch them from a distance. Now the issue is, who?" Nozaki pondered his friends. Wakamatsu had basketball club most of the time, and besides, he was already the model for Waka. Nozaki was glad Seo was already the model for Oze because he shuddered at the idea of getting her to do anything for him. Hori was also pretty busy with drama club, and who would he pair him up with? He seemed to be closest to Kashima, but he tended to be very violent with her which wouldn't work for the manga. He could try pairing Kashima up with someone, but he wasn't too close to her. Besides, Kashima probably wouldn't stick with just one girl. She'd probably end up seducing every girl in sight. That left just Mikoshiba and Sakura. "Sakura said she used to have a crush on someone before, but she doesn't now. Maybe she needs someone kind and sensitive like Mikoshiba to help her forget about her previous crush." He thought. "And Mikoshiba is my best friend. He's also the model for Mamiko which is perfect. Those two get along well together." With everything decided he sent both of his friends the same message. "I'd like to discuss some ideas for the manga. Meet me at our usual café."

Sakura came to the café in a pale blue frilly dress and immediately scanned the area. She sighed when she didn't see the familiar head of jet-black hair and instead headed to the table where she saw a different familiar head of red hair. "I should have guessed Nozaki-kun invited you too." Sakura grumbled. "Can't you be a little happier to see me?" Mikoshiba whined. "Sorry Mikorin," Sakura said, "I just keep wishing Nozaki would invite me alone somewhere just once. Anyway, have you seen him? Is he here yet?" "No," Mikoshiba said, "not yet. I'm surprised. He usually arrives long before we do to these kinds of things." After he finished speaking, he and Sakura sat awkwardly in silence waiting for Nozaki to come.

"Ugh…" Nozaki thought, "I just got here and was able to sneak to a discreet spot in the café, but now they don't even look like they're doing anything! Could they be waiting for me?" He quickly got out his phone and sent a quick text. "I'm running late. You can order without me. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

Sakura and Mikoshiba's phones buzzed at the same time. "That must be Nozaki" Mikoshiba said. Picking his phone up, he read the text silently. "It looks like he'll be here in about 20 minutes. He said we could order without him." He said, after reading it through. "Okay," Sakura said, "I'm going to order cheesecake!" "Of course, you are…" Mikoshiba said, rolling his eyes. "What? It's delicious!" she exclaimed. "Isn't this why Seo thought you got fat?" Mikoshiba asked. "I-I don't go out to eat every day!" she yelled, "besides, didn't we both agree that Nozaki was the reason for our weight gain? Not that he means to do it on purpose or anything!" Mikoshiba started snickering. "What is it?" Sakura asked. Mikoshiba tried to hold his laughter back as he answered, "What if… he really is trying to fatten you up?" "What do you mean?" she asked. "Well, you know how he's always obsessed with his editor right? So maybe his ideal girl is also fat!" Sakura jumped up suddenly. "In that case, maybe I'll order two pieces of cheesecake!" Mikoshiba shook his head. "Sakura, I was just kidding. I think you're cute enough the way you are now…" He blushed as he realized what he had said. "It's not that I like you in that way! I just mean… well… you're attractive? A-and your dress is really cute too." Sakura blushed as well. "Thanks, Mikorin. I hope Nozaki-kun thinks the same whenever he gets here."

Nozaki continued to watch the date unfold. His text seemed to break the silence between Mikoshiba and Sakura, but then they appeared to argue about something. "A small argument might work even though it's a date chapter." Nozaki thought. "Realistically, couples don't get along all the time. Besides, the reconciliation could lead to good romantic moments." After jotting down some notes, he saw that the two had calmed down again, and Mikoshiba seemed to be laughing about something. "Are they telling jokes?" Nozaki wondered. He jotted down the idea of adding some sort of humor into the story. Then he saw Mikoshiba's face flush. "A common occurrence." Nozaki thought, "Of course Mamiko would also blush about something while on a date." As he continued watching, Sakura also blushed slightly. Although he had seen her blush on multiple occasions, something about her blushing in front of Mikoshiba seemed off. Nozaki reasoned, "If Sakura is Suzuki right now, it would be rare to see him blush." He jotted down the idea in his notebook anyway.

Checking his phone, Mikoshiba saw that there would be 10 more minutes before Nozaki was expected to come. He sighed at the slow passage of time. "So, Sakura," he said, "Is there anything you wanted to talk about?" Immediately he regretted asking because he realized what her answer would be. "Mikorin, do you think I've been getting closer to Nozaki-kun at all?" "Of course, that's what she wants to talk about," he thought before answering, "W-well, maybe? You said he figured out your 'type' during art club once, right?" Sakura sighed. "That just means he knows I find him physically attractive. That's different from knowing that I like him." Mikoshiba replied, "It's a step in the right direction though. Earlier you listed off a whole bunch of specific traits and he STILL didn't get it." "I know right?!" Sakura exclaimed. "Now he thinks I don't like anybody though." "To be fair, that's your own fault." Mikoshiba replied dryly. "Hey!" Sakura shouted angrily. Mikoshiba then stated, "Despite it all, I think there is the possibility that deep down he feels SOMETHING. I doubt he notices it consciously though. He probably needs some guidance since he can be an idiot sometimes." "Nozaki-kun is NOT an idiot!" she yelled while blushing furiously.

As Nozaki continued watching, he guessed that the two had moved on to a new topic. Sakura still retained her slight blush which still bothered him for some reason. As they continued conversing, Sakura seemed to get upset. "Was this a bad idea after all?" Nozaki wondered. Suddenly he heard her clearly across the room. "Nozaki-kun is NOT an idiot!" she screamed. "What's going on?" Nozaki wondered as he got up abruptly. Mikoshiba and Sakura's heads jerked in his direction. Although there were 5 minutes left and his original plan was to sneak out of the café and then come back in like he had just arrived, he headed straight to their table instead. He had to stop this. Sakura sounded upset, and something about this whole scenario seemed wrong. "Nozaki…" Mikoshiba started, "were you watching us this whole time?" Nozaki crossed his arms. "Yes, and what about it? What is this I hear about being called an idiot? And why does Sakura look so upset?" Instead of answering Sakura asked, "Nozaki-kun! Why were you watching us?" Nozaki pulled out his notebook. "I was getting ideas for a date chapter for Mamiko and Suzuki, but that's not important now. Did Mikoshiba upset you?" Mikoshiba also didn't answer Nozaki's question and instead asked, "Wait… you set us up on a date as reference for Mamiko and Suzuki?" Nozaki tried to insist, "Yes but-" Sakura and Mikoshiba slammed their hands on the table while both blushed intensely. They shouted in unison, "YOU IDIOT!"


End file.
